History Repeats Itself
by Molly4
Summary: A sequel to "All an Act." Stuff happens. Lex muses. Morning comes. Jonathan Kent explains to Lex why he doesn't approve of him. Please review.


A/N: This is a sequel to the fic "All an Act." Takes place back at the Luthor mansion. Not much to say after that, but the next morning Jonathan and Clark come to visit and Jonathan reveals to Lex just why he doesn't approve his friendship with Clark. My apologies if it's a little OOC.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimers: Don't own them.  
  
Spoilers: "Jitters," "The Pilot."  
  
History Repeats Itself  
By: Molly  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lionel sat in the library of the Luthor mansion going over the books. He glanced at his gold watch, noticing with a sigh that it had been over three hours since Lex had walked away from him at Luthor Corp. And there'd been no sign of him since.   
  
Just then, Lex did finally arrive, going through the library entrance. His breath caught in his throat seeing his father sitting there. The only reason he'd gone through this way was because he was certain he would not run into his father.  
  
Lionel stood up, his eyes searching Lex's face. "So, you're finally back. Where have you been? You know it's not good PR to run away like that." Lionel paused, gradually moving closer to Lex, Lex's discomfort multiplying.   
  
"I went for a walk," Lex explained, meeting his father's eyes with an icy stare. "And I could care less about how you look to the public."  
  
Lionel paused, then smirked like the devil himself. 'Cocky bastard,' Lex thought. It was hard to believe this was his father, the man who helped bring him to life. The man who'd taught him how to tie his tie the first day of school. That's been when his mother was alive. When Lionel wasn't so obsessed with power and money. Sure, he had a lot of it, but he wasn't always thinking of getting more. Sometimes Lex wondered why he was even born.  
  
"You should care, Lex, you should. I can keep you here in Smallville for longer if you like. There's a job opening in Metropolis that would be perfect for you." There was a hint of sincerity in Lionel's voice that Lex didn't pick up on. "We need someone with your mind, with your independent streak."  
  
"I'd rather spend the rest of my life here than in Metropolis acting as one of your drones," Lex sneered.  
  
"You're lucky I even let you work for me. After that whole Club Zero scandal, I had every right not to hire you. Not many big companies just automatically hire a kid involved in something like that. But at Luthor Corp., family is everything. Isn't that right?" Lionel smiled at Lex mockingly.   
  
Lex swallowed. "I'm going to bed," he told Lionel. He pushed on past, avoiding his father's face where he knew he'd see a smirk. Because Lionel was right and Lex knew it and Lionel knew Lex knew it.   
  
Lionel watched him go, then when he was at least down the hall, he settled back in his chair with a sigh. Lex would never know the real reason why Lionel had let him work for his company. He was trying to get Lex to understand, to learn, that you can always count on your father to bail you out. Even when he says he never will. Besides, Lex was a damn good worker, one of the best at Luthor Corp., yet on the other hand he was the most stubborn, the first to defy his every action, almost like.....  
  
Lionel slammed the book shut loudly. No, no, no. Lex was not like him. Lex would not become like him. He couldn't let that happen. One of the main reasons Lex had been born was to break the vicious circle. Okay, so the real reason Lex had been born was because Lionel and Anna had loved each other more than life itself.  
  
Lionel remembered, shutting his book, the long nights they'd spent discussing children. Anna had been worried that their child would turn out how all the Luthors eventually did, like Lionel was now, like his father was at the time. It was as if there was some kind of family curse nobody could break. Anna didn't want her child to be born into that kind of family. But Lionel had insisted that he would make it different. His boy would be different. He'd change the world for the better, he'd make sure of it. And Anna, never one to argue, simply agreed. Alexander Thomas Luthor was born soon after.  
  
God, even his name was meant to defy the Luthors before him. Every generation of Luthor men had borne the initials L.L. No exceptions. There had been every name imaginable. Leo, Lonny, Larry, Leonard, Leon, the list seemed to stretch for miles. Lionel broke the chain, or he thought he did. He'd given the name a lot of thought. Broken it down even. Considered the nicknamed. He'd come up with Alex, or Al, still something safe, still beginning with an 'A.'  
  
Lionel had always referred to him as Alexander, formal as it was. But the first day of school, some unknown child called him Lex and it stuck. Lionel had adamantly refused to call his son by the name. The whole purpose of his name was to be different from the others. Soon though, Lex wouldn't answer to anything else. So, dejected, Lionel started calling him Lex.  
  
Maybe that was when the transitions in Lionel first occurred. His life's mission had been to be different from his father, to not take on the cruel manner he called running his business. He was going to help out the little guy while reaching the top himself. He was going to show everyone, and anyone who would listen that he was not his father's son, so to speak. He was going to show the world through his beautiful, angelic wife, Anna and his son, Alexander who he'd hoped he could model to be like himself.  
  
The dream didn't last long as Anna died and "Alexander" grew distant. Things changed. And slowly Lionel became the one man he hated more than anybody or anything, his father.  
  
Oh God, what was he doing? Lex didn't deserve this life. He deserved Jonathan Kent......Jonathan Kent, now there was a name he hadn't thought about in awhile. 'That's the past Lionel, no need to dwell on it,' he reminded himself. He's been doing that enough already.  
  
Lionel cleared his throat and opened the book back up again. The thought hit him again anyway: What was he doing?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
Lex slid into bed with a sigh. It'd been a long day, and all he wanted was to fall asleep and never wake up. Should he wake up though, he'd love to do it with no memories of just about anything.  
  
There was a light knocking on the door. Lex grunted. If it was Lionel he could forget it. He wasn't going to go fishing with him and rekindle some kind of father/son relationship. Not that there'd ever been one to rekindle.  
  
"Yes," he called softly hoping whoever was there had some aspirin. Or maybe some ibuprofen.   
  
"It's me Master Luthor, Katie."  
  
"Come in, Katie."   
  
The bashful young maid entered, her eyes looking at the floor as if she weren't good enough to look Lex in the eye. How Lex loathed the servile manner that some of his staff had. Had they no self-respect? They were just as good as he, if not better. But he softened looking at the girl who was visibly frightened. Her hands shook, causing the tray in her hands to shake.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I have some warm milk for you Master Luthor. Your father told me to send it up." She approached him with the tray.  
  
Lex took the cup from her. "Thank you Katie. That will be all. Why don't you take tomorrow off?"  
  
Katie curtsied, again not meeting his gaze. "Thank you Master Luthor." She left the room as quietly as she'd entered.  
  
Lex took a sip of milk. So dear ol' Dad had sent him up some milk. How sweet. Now what was it that he expected to result in this? His dad was right in what he told him every now and then, Lex did know how he feel, sometimes he just needed to hear it. This, what was this? A peace offering? Maybe Lionel hadn't even sent it up for him. Maybe Katie was just a nosy little brat trying to play Oprah between the Luthors.   
  
Lex downed the glass quickly. Either way, it didn't matter. It wasn't like a glass of milk could bring him and his father together. Those ties had already been cut. It was hopeless.  
  
Lex sighed, and flicked off the lamp by his bed. He was exhausted and his head throbbed. He supposed he was lucky he didn't have a concussion the way Earl had thwacked him. Ah, but what did his father say? There's no such thing as luck, only a higher power having pity on you? Yes, that was it. So he didn't feel lucky, just pitied.  
  
The milk started to take effect as Lex quickly fell asleep.   
  
"Clark!" Lex yelled. He was hanging on, but just barely. He closed his eyes, feeling tears well up in them. This was the end. He knew it. He wondered if this was what it had been like for his mother.  
  
Clark lunged at him as he was falling. Their fingertips grazed but Lex kept on falling.....and falling.......  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Clark screamed in anguish, watching his best friend land with a bone chilling thump on the ground so far below him.  
  
But Lex didn't seem to hit the ground. He just kept falling and falling....and falling....until he fell right into the ocean. It took a mouthful of salt water for this fact to register in Lex's brain.  
  
The first thing he did was wonder why he was there, and what he was doing. But soon it became clear.  
  
"Lex! Lex honey, save me." The sweet voice wafted by.  
  
"Mom," he whispered, struggling to stay afloat.  
  
"Yes, honey. It's me. Come here, Mommy needs you Lexie. Mommy missed you."  
  
With an excited smile, Lex kicked off his shoes under water and swam towards the sound of her voice. He almost didn't hear the storm moving in behind him.  
"Lexie, hurry! Mommy might not make it!"  
  
Lex pushed harder and faster, ignoring the burning in his side. He had to reach her. Had to save her. He could see her, so close....so close. Her hair was visible. Her long wild mane of gorgeous red hair she had always played with. Lex felt himself swallow another gulp of disgusting ocean water. A painful gasp escaped from his mouth and his side was cramping up.  
  
"No.....not now....so close....." but he couldn't go on any farther. No matter how much his mom pleaded.  
  
"Lexie please. Mommy loves you."  
  
Suddenly hearing the words he'd never heard from anyone but her he found the last little bit of strength in him and paddled more. His side continued to cramp up and he hurt all over but he needed to get there.   
  
In seconds, in mere seconds, he was right beside her. She was just barely hanging on to a small piece of driftwood.   
  
"Mom," he gasped, reaching out his hand. She reached out her hand and their fingertips grazed. Thunder boomed. Just a little closer, and she'd be saved.  
  
And then, as it always happened, the unseen force pushed him away. The thunder rolled, unrelenting and angry.   
  
"Mom!" Lex screamed it this time, his voice laced with the pain, the anger, the bitterness that had been welling up inside him since she had died.  
  
And he was falling...and falling....  
  
Lex's eyes snapped open. He was back, in his home, in his bed. His stomach lurched. The contents were about to overflow. He jumped out of bed, racing down the hall to the bathroom.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lionel sat absolutely still in his chair as he heard his son's cries for his mom. He must have been having another nightmare. Lionel's mind wrestled with the idea of going up and helping him through the night. He had eventually decided that the milk was enough, and went back to his reading, trying to tune out Lex's screams.  
  
But eventually, it got to be too much for Lionel. Lex sounded as if he was in so much pain. Just as he told himself he would go up and investigate, the screaming stopped.  
  
'There, see. He woke up on his own. You didn't help him and he's a stronger man for it.' Lionel nodded. He'd made the right choice. He started to doubt himself when he heard footsteps rushing across the hall. This he had to check out.  
  
He stood up and cleared his throat. Dusting off his pants, Lionel headed for the staircase. Upon reaching the top he strained his ears trying to pinpoint the general direction in which it was coming from. He headed straight hearing that wretched noise again.  
  
Lionel approached the doorway of the bathroom tentatively. Peering in cautiously, he saw Lex bent over the porcelain toilet. He swallowed back a lump in his throat. He was never good with this kind of a thing. He was without a clue on what to do. Did he leave the whole scene alone, walk away like he'd never seen a thing. Did he go in? And of he did go in, what then? What more could he do. He had already lost the respect of his son, of that he was certain.   
  
Hesitantly, he entered the bathroom, seating himself on the edge of the bathtub. Lex made no indication that he even knew Lionel had entered. He simply went on retching and retching.   
  
Without thinking, Lionel reached out with a shaky hand and placed it on Lex's back. Lex's eyes shifted to the side, looking at him, sickly and curiously. Lionel didn't say a word, just rubbed Lex's back not a though passing through his head.  
  
Lionel knew Lex had suffered through another dream, another dream of Anna, his mother. Lionel knew what those were like, he'd experienced more than a few after the death of his wife. But Lionel had made them closely guarded secrets, sending his help away at night. The maid, the butler, the driver, the cook, were all given beautiful apartments with a wonderful view of the city. No questions were asked or that member of the staff would be promptly fired.   
  
The truth was, Lionel didn't have someone close to him that he could discuss those kinds of matters with. He had no close friends, no business associates that he could tell while nursing a beer at a local bar. He had nobody. Lex, Lex was there, but he'd pushed him away, far away, so far that there was no going back. They'd never been close, but before Anna's death, they had at least talked about things other than business. They had acknowledged the other's place in the human race when Anna was alive. There were no grunted greetings followed by cold stares. There were no warm hugs and kisses either, or long talks about their respective schedules, but there was something. Something more than what they'd been reduced to.  
  
Lionel rubbed Lex's back, with the palm of his hand. He knew not what else to do. Lex soon emptied out the contents of his stomach but he knelt over the bowl for awhile before finally speaking.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Lex asked bitterly.   
  
"Doing what?" Lionel watched as Lex stood up shakily and began to wash his face in the sink.  
  
"Doing this," Lex replied simply, toweling off his face. "Trying to comfort me all of the sudden. Where were you the last nine years of my life? Locked in the bathroom?"  
  
Lionel stood up to his full height. "I don't even know why I bother with you, Lex." He shook his head sadly. "I was wrong in what I did tonight. You do not need me. Luthors don't need anyone." With that, he simply walked away, heading back down the winding staircase and settling back down into his same chair.   
  
Back upstairs, Lex swallowed back tears.  
  
"But I do," he whispered, putting the towel back. "I need someone, Dad, I need my father. I need someone like you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You are coming back to Metropolis with me and I will have no arguments about it!" It was the next morning, just after noon, and already an argument had flared up between father and son.  
  
Lionel was adament about Lex coming home with him. Not to reassure him of his son's health and safety, not to see medical experts. Not even to just feel safe in the knowledge that his son was in his care and no more wrong would be done to him. It was simply for good PR and Lex knew it.  
  
"I'm not a child," Lex growled, turning away from his father.  
  
"You are my child and you will do as I say!" Lionel's voice grew louder by the second.  
  
"Just go Dad. You don't care about me. Just go home!" Lex ran a hand over his head. He took a deep breath and let his tone become softer and compromising. "Look, I have some work to take care of. I need to be here. Some things at the office I need to take care of. I need to make sure the elevator remains hidden. That Level 3 remains hidden." Lex was sure he'd strike a chord with his father on that one.  
  
"My men are taking care of it as we speak." Lionel smiled maliciously. "And until then, all workers are getting time off. Time to spend with their families. They need it after what they've gone through."  
  
Lex swallowed. He had encountered Lionel's "men" before. They were his most trusted advisors. On nothing other than business. As far as Lex knew Lionel had no acquaintances outside of work. His men were the cruelest in the business. They were without morals, without a conscience, and as Anna has told Lex in secret long before, they were willing to sell their mother for a buck. All it would take for Lionel to have the Level 3 scandal cleared up was a hefty amount of cash. They'd never leak a word of it to the press for the right price.   
  
This set him back a bit. He'd prepared his excuses before bed the previous night. In his head they had all seemed logical. They seemed like good excuses that even Lionel couldn't refuse.  
"The kids, I need to visit some, make sure they're okay. Sit and talk with their parents, explain what happened. It's good PR right. The wounded Luthor risks his health to help a few kids?" It was his last ditch attempt to get out of leaving Smallville.  
  
The truth was he didn't want to spent time in his father's dusty, drafty mansion. All his visits back home, which were few, and there was much time in between, were short lived and he was always received coldly. Mostly Lex just tried to stay out of his father's way. They never exchanged a friendly word, or something that even slightly resembled one. The trips back to Metropolis were really only to keep up the appearance of a loving family, while really they spent their time in different wings of the mansion.  
  
Lionel shook his head, not able to hold back a smirk at the sight of Lex trying to weasel his way out of the trip. 'Well, looks like I won't be getting the Father of the Year award.' He finally opened his mouth to shoot down another of his son's excuses. He hoped it'd be the last one, this game was boring him half to death.  
  
"Luthor Corp care packages have already been sent out. Photocopied letter expressing our sympathy and concern. A few pencils, a reassurance that Level 3 is just something that man fabricated in his lunacy."   
  
Lex was disgusted. Every word his father spoke held no compassion or concern. Had his father no heart? Did he not feel anything anymore? Deep down inside he knew the truth. Lionel Luthor's heart had turned to steel the day Anna Luthor had died.  
  
"I don't care. I'm not going with you." Lex turned to walk away.  
  
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Alexander." Lionel crossed his arms. He was certain he'd win in the end.  
  
Lex bristled. He hadn't been called Alexander in years. If anybody asked him what his name was Lex popped immediately to mind. Hell, Clark thought his given name was Lexington. Very few people even knew his name was Alexander. Only one person ever called him that. And he always hated it.  
  
"I don't have to go with you if I don't choose to," Lex informed him, louder than he knew he should've.   
  
"Master Luthor?" One of the older members of his staff, Greta, appeared in the doorway. She was like the grandmother Lex had never had. She smiled nervously, her eyes darting between the two Luthors before finally explaining her presence. "There are some people here for you. The Kents."  
  
Lionel paused, he knew of the Kents, knew of their place in his son's life. He remembered the place the elder Kent man had once had on his. He didn't need to dig up old memories.  
  
"We're not done," he quietly informed his son before leaving. "Tell Jonathan I said hello," he added with a smirk.  
  
"Send them in please Greta," Lex requested, sitting down at his desk.  
  
A few moments later, both Kent men entered. Clark looked around nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He gave Lex a goofy grin, to which Lex simply nodded and gave a tight smile. Jonathan was clean shaven and looked grim. He wore a pair of new looking blue jeans, and a nice-looking jacket. Lex wondered, with a grin, if Martha had laid out his clothes for that day. It was quite a change from his beat up jeans and open flannel shirt.  
  
There was an awkward silence. Lex wasn't sure if he was supposed to speak first or if Jonathan wanted to do the honors. Hey, maybe Clark had something interesting to share. Lex decided to take things into his own hands. He didn't have the patience to deal with this.  
  
"What brings you two here?" He finally asked, looking Jonathan straight in the eye.  
  
"I need to talk to you," Jonathan told him, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket uncomfortably. He shot a glance at Clark. "Alone."  
  
At this Lex wondered why Clark had even come along but he figured that Martha had probably sent him with his dad to make sure he didn't say or do anything she wouldn't approve of.  
Clark, naive as he was, did take the hint, but he had no clue where to go. His face turned red and he cleared his throat, about to ask when Lex swooped in and saved the day.  
  
"Clark, why don't you go visits Marco in the lab? He just got a new telescope he'd love for you to check out." Lex arched an eyebrow. Marco was one of the men Lex had working in his lab. He was almost as obsessed with astronomy as Clark was with Lana Lang. Clark had met with Marco on a few occasions, talking science, and they'd shared a mutual respect for the other's intellect.  
  
Clark's eyes lit up at the thought of another visit to the lab. "Sure," he answered, giving the same goofy, big toothed grin he'd given him before.  
  
"I assume you know the way."   
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Don't worry son, I won't take more than a few minutes. I'll come and get you when we're done." Jonathan smiled at him warmly, and this time Clark's goofy grin was relocated and aimed at his father.  
  
Jonathan shook his head as he watched Clark leave. Lex felt a pang in his heart, seeing the overwhelming love for Clark evident in Jonathan's eyes. It was almost as bad as the family's embrace the night before. Jonathan turned to him suddenly, all Lex's previous thought vanishing.  
  
"Look, Lex, you did a brave thing last night, and I-I want to thank you for it." Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck nervously.   
  
"I'm sure if you had had the option you'd have done the same," Lex replied, getting up and strolling around his office.  
  
Jonathan nodded. "Yes. Yes." He sighed suddenly, his shoulder drooping. "Okay, I didn't come here to discuss last night with you."  
  
Lex nodded. "So, what is it you want to talk about? Sports? The weather? Mrs. Kent? How is she doing by the way."  
  
"Fine. Just fine." Jonathan was clearly nervous, bouncing on the balls of his feet.   
  
"Do you want to sit down?" Lex indicated a chair in front of his desk, as he sat back down on his own chair. Maybe this would make Jonathan more comfortable, easier to talk to.  
  
"Yes. Fine. That's fine." Jonathan slid into the chair, and it was like he was a whole new person. He sat up straighter and cleared his throat. "Okay." Jonathan let out a long breath. "Lex.....I'll never.....never approve of your friendship with my son."  
  
Lex snorted. "You've made that quite obvious already, Mr. Kent."  
  
"Yes, I have, but maybe you should know the reasons why. I never gave explained my situation to you and maybe you deserve to hear it." Jonathan's blue eyes pierced into his.   
  
"Go on. I'm listening." Lex folded his arms. It should be interesting, he decided.  
  
"You see the Luthors and the Kents, well you can just say our paths have crossed from generation to generation. You and Clark, well, so many years ago that was Lionel and myself."  
  
This came as a great surprise to Lex. He knew nothing of this. Lex had always prided himself on knowing more than anyone thought he did. He knew secrets people would kill to keep guarded. Yet still, he didn't know this.  
  
Jonathan kept on going, oblivious to the impact his words were having on Lex. "When I was a high school freshman I took a trip to Metropolis with my parents. I'd won this essay contest and we all went as a family to a banquet."   
  
  
This was obviously hard for Jonathan to tell him. He looked as if he were on the brink of tears and he twisted his wedding ring around his finger nervously.  
  
"We-we were walking around the city when I saw this guy, not too much older than me, a few years maybe, and he was just walking too. He was walking down the street and didn't even notice a truck heading straight for him. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd dived in the middle of the road and tackled him to safety."  
  
Lex didn't want to hear another word. He didn't. Yet he didn't raise his voice to quiet Jonathan because something inside of him, deep, deep inside of him told him he had to hear this.  
  
"My father," he whispered softly.  
  
Jonathan nodded looking up at Lex with a pained expression. "Your father. There was some confusion afterwards. My mother was screaming and crying, she thought I'd been run over. And she ran to me, showering me with kisses and tears, while my father checked me over for any damage. I never even got the chance to say two words to Lionel. He was quickly taken to the hospital, just as a precaution. I spent the next couple days in Metropolis, letting my parents fuss over me, and I just sorta forgot it ever happened." He snickered. "But once I got back to Smallville, I was deemed a hero." He paused, licking his lips.  
  
"I found out through some friends that I'd saved the life of the son of an incredibly wealthy man. They all joked about how maybe I'd be rewarded with lots of money for saving his life. Secretly, I hoped they were right. My family was never very rich and we needed some money to help us get by. Lionel tracked me down. He came to visit me one Saturday. He thanked me for what I'd done. He gave me a free truck." Jonathan fell silent.  
  
Lex swallowed back a lump in his throat. Was this real? Was this really happening? Was what Jonathan was saying even true? Was it some bullshit contrived just to scare him? He didn't have time to consider. Jonathan went right along.  
  
"Lionel and I became fast friends. He visited Smallville frequently. Having a friend like Lionel was, it was exciting." Jonathan's eyes looked glazed over as he spoke again, focused on absolutely nothing. "It was exciting to have a friend that with one phone call could get you everything you ever wanted. My junior year I blew out my knee in a football game. It was doubtful I'd ever be able to play again. But with one phone call, Lionel had the top ten knee specialists and physical therapists lined up outside my bedroom door." Jonathan looked down at his hands before finally speaking again.  
  
"My father disapproved of him, telling me what Lionel would turn out to be like, his father. I thought my dad was so wrong. Just because he had been friends with Leonard Luthor so many years before. I tried to tell him, tried to tell him how different Lionel was. How much he resented his father, how he'd never become the man he loathed so much." Jonathan titled his head back, looking at the ceiling. This was all so difficult for him. "God, Lionel was so much like you are now."  
  
Lex felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He couldn't breathe, he'd forgotten how to breathe. This couldn't be true. He was nothing like his dad. Nothing at all. He was not greedy or power hungry, he did not take pleasure in seeing others fall. This was not him at all.  
  
"Is there a point to this story?" He finally choked out, unable to utter anything else.  
  
"I'm getting there," Jonathan replied softly. "Everything was good for awhile. At the time I was dating Nell, Lana's aunt. I had been to shy to ask her out myself but Lionel, working in his almost devious ways somehow got us together, though he swore after he didn't. I soon had it all. I was captain of the football team, I was popular, I had a beautiful girlfriend, and I had a best friend in one of the richest young men living. But Lionel had caused a permanent rift between my father and I. Sure, we loved each other, and we talked a lot but he couldn't let go of my friendship with Lionel. At the time I thought my father was wrong, or even as stupid as I was, I thought he was jealous." Jonathan shook his head sadly. "I was such an idiot."  
  
Lex sat rigid in his chair. He didn't know what to do. He didn't like what he was hearing. If everything that Jonathan was saying was true wouldn't that mean, well, wouldn't that mean that someday, somehow he'd turn into his father. Jonathan had said so himself, that Lex is so much like he was. Nononononono. It couldn't be. He would not turn into the man he promised himself he'd never be like. He could never become his father. Lex was different.   
  
And what the hell was Jonathan doing? This was nothing like him. He never spoke that much unless someone riled him up, someone did something to him that caused him to be angry. Because when he was angry oh, he could fight and rant for a long time. Maybe Lionel had done this to him.....  
  
"Slowly, Lionel began to change. I didn't notice it at first." Jonathan's voice wavered a second before picking up steam. "It was just little things, but then soon it was bigger things. And bigger things until I barely recognized my best friend. I was able to tell him things before. I trusted that he'd keep my secrets. He always seemed to know things, always seemed to know more than everyone else. And yet he still listened to me and cared about what I said and did. Over time, our friendship became strained. I began to notice things about him."  
  
"Like what?" It was Lex's first words in what seemed like forever. It was so much to wrap his mind around.   
  
"Like I said, little things. And then those little things, well.....they led to bigger things. He grew colder, more distant, it was hard for me to talk to him. He tricked people out of their businesses, out of their money." Jonathan's voice fell to just above a whisper. "Your father made three companies go bankrupt in one month. He showed no pity for those he hurt. He used to care about everyone and everything. He used to have......compassion. And then he did it. It's the reason why I don't approve of your friendship with Clark. It's the reason why nothing you ever do will get me to like you."  
  
"What's that?" Lex asked, finally gaining his confidence back.   
  
Jonathan leaned in closer to Lex. "He killed my father," he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Lex felt that same feeling. He couldn't breathe. He'd forgotten how. No, this couldn't be true. His father was bad, but no, he couldn't have done this. He wasn't that pure evil, he was sure of it.  
  
"No," he hissed, though just looking into Jonathan's eyes, he saw the truth.  
  
"Yes," Jonathan replied. "And no matter who I told nobody would believe me. The police couldn't do anything. The Luthors owned the police like they owned every other damn thing. Like they do now. Finally, I realized nobody would listen and I just shut up. Because there's nothing I could do about it." Jonathan's voice rose considerably.  
  
"I'm nothing like my father Mr. Kent," Lex managed to choke out, through all his rush of mixed emotions. Through all his shock.  
  
Jonathan snickered. A bitter snicker, telling Lex that he didn't believe him. "That's what Lionel used to tell me. That's what Leonard told my father. What makes you any different?"  
  
Lex wanted to shout out a million reasons why he was different than his father, and from the rest of the Luthors before him. But he couldn't say anything. He didn't know any reasons. The room fell silent.  
  
"That's what I thought," Jonathan said almost silently. In the back of his head Jon knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to change Lex, trying to stray him away from the ways of his father, no matter how impossible he knew it was.   
  
Slowly, purposefully, Jonathan turned and left. "I'll be taking Clark and leaving," he told Lex over his shoulder.   
  
"Goodbye."  
  
"Don't bother." A wave of emotions had bowled Jonathan over and he had no time for manners. Just remembering the wicked gleam in Lionel's eyes the day he'd.......he couldn't even think about it. He didn't want to think about it.  
  
Jonathan found Clark quickly, pouring over notes in the lab.   
  
"C'mon son, it's time to go home," he told him grimly. He managed a fake smile.  
  
"Dad, are you okay?" Clark asked, not wanting to appear suspicious. He'd heard every word exchanged between his father and Lex, having been hiding outside the door the whole time, then zipping away when he heard Lex bid his father goodbye. It overwhelmed him, but he couldn't let it show.  
  
"I'm fine son. Now, c'mon. We gotta get a move on. Your mom's making her apple pie and I for one am not gonna let it get cold." Jonathan put his arm around Clark's shoulders. "Now, you with me?"  
  
"Sure Dad." Clark grinned at his dad. They walked by Lex's office once more. The door was still open. Clark looked at his dad, who upon catching his glimpse, just smiled. Was his father right? Would history repeat itself. He shivered. He didn't want Lex to turn out like that.  
  
"You okay?" Jonathan asked, turning to look at him, concerned.  
  
"I'm fine, Dad," Clark told him, smiling. Jonathan shrugged. Father and son walked out of the mansion, Clark's mind still plagued with what he'd heard. 'Maybe ignorance is bliss,' he reflected grimly as they drove home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lex sat at his desk, looking troubled. He didn't know what to think, or what to do. He wasn't sure of anything. In his head all he remembered was one thing Jonathan has said:  
  
"What makes you any different?"  
  
It had been meant to challenge him, perhaps even meant to threaten him, to warn him. But all it did was scare Lex.  
  
Try as he might, Lex couldn't come up with one way that he was any different than his father.  
  
"What makes you different?" Jonathan's voice rang in his ears again.  
  
"I don't know," Lex whispered to himself.   
  
The room was silent.  
  
*THE END*  
  
A/N: okay so i don't know if that was any good or not, so please review. You can criticize i guess but please be gentle. 


End file.
